I love television. I mean I really love it. I have forgotten more shows than most people will ever watch. I have episodes that I just love to watch. Sometimes, when I am feeling nostalgic, i will simply seek out these episodes. Maybe the episode is reminiscent of time or maybe just takes me from reality for a moment, roughly 44 minutes. It is a mini vacation. I love to go back and re watch my favorite shows from beginning to end but sometimes I just like to take a single episode and relive the moment. Use to be I had wait to find the episode on but with technology where it is now I can simple jump on the internets and find it right away.

5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 3 episode 9 “the wish”. This is a fun one. It has alternate history. It has all the characters from one of the best seasons of the show. I admit I came late to this party. I avoided the show because the movie was so goofy. I stumbled in on the episode where buffy fights Dracula. Got to love the irony. Avoiding a show because the movie was silly then checking out the episode that should have featured Abbott and Costello. In this episode Cordilia wishes that Buffy had never arrived in sunny dale. This immediately transforms sunny dale to the dark vampire laden town it would have been. We even get to see Xander and Willow as evil versions of themselves. It has all the Dark trimmings and humor that makes the show work. This is definitely a must see buffy episode for the new comer or even to take trip back to the Hell mouth one more time.

4. terminator the Sarah Connor chronicles season1 episode 6” Dungeons and Dragons”. This is the one. This is the one that really gets me going every time. If you know me you know I feel robbed by losing this show. This show focuses on Sarah Connor raising young John Connor in a period between terminator 2 and 3. It really focusses on the legend of Sarah as John prepares to lead humanity to victory against the machines. This episode is seminal. This is where we get the entire Scooby gang together. We also get a peek into the world of post judgment day. This is exactly how life after judgment day should be shown in anything terminator. We do not need to live in that world. The beauty of the terminator series is that unless you know you do not believe. This is the episode where we learn about soldiers being sent back to prepare for the impending apocalypse. This is the episode where we find an FBI agent suddenly struggling to understand that what he thinks was crazy delusions may just in fact be real. We also get learn that Kyle had a brother. We also learn that john has send Kyle’s brother back to help protect and train his younger self. I love this show I love this episode.

3. Freaks and Geeks season 1 episode 18 “discos and dragons” this was the season/series finale. If you do not know this show you are missing out. 18 of the best episodes written about the 80’s. This was the start of the show. This was the end of the show. As a series finale it sucks! As a season finale it is awesome! Freaks and geeks focused on, well freaks and geeks. Two sets of student attending McKinley high school. Older kids, the freaks, played skillfully by Seth Rogen James Franco, and Jason Segel. Basically if you have laughed at a movie in the last 5 years it probably either had a cast member from this show, was produced by Judd Apatow, or both. This is where most of today’s stars got their start. This episode is the last day of school first day of summer. Everybody is on their trip through discovery. One of the freaks ends up playing D&D with the geeks. Linda Cardelini’s character is about to go out and follow the dead for the summer. Everybody is headed in new directions and I was so excited to see them come back together next fall, but alas my hopes and dreams were shattered.

2. West Wing season 1 episode 4 “Five Votes Down”. I have forever and always recommend any new comer to the west wing start here. Then back track. This really should have been the pilot. If you don’t know, where have you been living under a rock????, the West Wing focusses on the Bartlet administration. Some of the best writing ever on television. This show moves quickly, literally and metaphorically. The language is a natural feel. It feels like reel conversation. I like to call it the Sorkin rhythm. No one seems to be waiting for some else to finish so they can say there line. It flows like a real conversation. “Five Votes Down” focusses on the passage of a gun control bill. The bill is a dog but that is how you get things passed. The chief of staff has a great line of “two things you never want to let people see you do. Make sausage and pass a bill”. You really get a sense of who the characters are and also a look at why things do not get through congress. This is one of my favorite episodes of any show.

1. Newsroom season 2 episode 7 “Red Team III“. Another Sorkin joint. This is in season three this summer. So you now need to go to HBOGO.com or even to amazonprime.com and watch all of these episodes before the new season starts. Go ahead I will wait……..Okay, this show focusses on a Newsroom, DUH, and the news stories are ripped form the headlines of the previous year. This gets mixed in with the work place drama love hate scheming and teaming. It’s all there. Management against talent studio execs against producers. Journalists covering stories they don’t believe in or trying to get people to follow the stories they do believe in. this is truly a great show on TV. I look forward to it but it also saddens me as it comes on in the end of summer which means if I am watching it I am heading to work soon. This particular episode is the culmination of a season long story arc about the U.S. military using white phosphorus on civilians. I really do not want to ruin it but there is a lot going on here and one of the key elements is so obvious that if you missed you will re-watch to see how much of a reference is made to it throughout the show. I know I am being vague for a number 1 but seriously you got to see all the episodes leading up to it to truly appreciate this. If you have followed my recommendation and watch west wing five votes down this is truly better. Not as a standalone but as a summation of a story line.

This but only the first of what I am sure will be many hi fives to focus on favorite episodes. Asking me to choose one is like asking me to choose which of my daughters I love more. It is impossible. So be prepared for many more of these to come. Do you have a suggestion? Let me know in the comments.